Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Tony Yengeni are two surprise omissions from the Gauteng African National Congress’s provincial and national election list, it emerged on Wednesday.
ANC provincial secretary and provincial list convenor David Makhura had no ready explanation why none of the African National Congress’s 247 branches and 50 000 members in good standing in the province had nominated either of the two normally popular, but currently disgraced, politicians.
He said the outcome, that placed President Thabo Mbeki and Deputy President Jacob Zuma at the top of the provisional national list, Obed Bapela and Joyce Kgoali at the head of the provincial-national consolidation list and Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and Nomvula Mokonyane at the top of the provincial lists, was the result of a ”very extensive process”.
”We don’t know ourselves why they are not there,” he said in reply to several questions on Madikizela-Mandela and Yengeni.
Madikizela-Mandela was ANC Women’s League president and Yengeni was the party’s chief whip until both were variously convicted in the courts of fraud and corruption. Both are still appealing conviction and sentence.
Makhura said the results of the provincial list conference, held on Sunday, represented the unity and stability of the ANC and (tripartite) alliance in the province, as well as a strong vote of confidence in the current ANC cadres in the provincial government.
Asked what percentage or number of the list represented new blood, Makhura said the information was still being gathered and was not immediately available.
”The results also point to the fact that ANC members have understood the criteria of ensuring that our lists have a high representation of women, fair representation of all national groups, people with disability and cadres from across the entire movement, including those who are working in civil society formations,” he said, reading from a prepared statement. — Sapa